Williamsburg Buzzkill: Cops target bicyclists exiting the Bridge

Williamsburg Buzzkill: Cops target bicyclists exiting the Bridge

By Matthew Taub

Brooklyn Daily Eagle

On the Manhattan side of the Williamsburg Bridge, trouble awaits riders ready to rejoice at their pedaling prowess and continue westward along Delancey Street through Manhattan.

The local authorities are sticking to the traffic pattern, which allows bicyclists to go north and south only. They are ticketing anyone who deviates.

“These bicyclists didn’t go through a light, didn’t go against traffic, didn’t do anything illegal–they just proceeded in a direction that the city’s new design doesn’t ‘allow’ for,” said a spokesperson for Time’s Up, a local bicycling advocacy group.

“This is unfair because there is a design flaw with the entrance/exit to the street,” the Time’s Up spokesperson said.

Time’s Up has even submitted proposals several times with plans to alleviate the design problem. A new ramp design could allow bikers to safely exit the bridge and continue west on Delancey Street, without entering directly into traffic.

“The new plan would [be] safer for bicyclists, and includes the addition of a new park!”

Local bicyclists agree, contending that several changes are needed to the area.

“The opening in the cement wall [for bicyclists heading towards the bridge] is not as large as the prior existing bike lane that led to the bridge, creating a bottleneck during busy commutes heading to Brooklyn,” said Corey Hillard, a Brooklyn bicyclist. “It’s a nightmare to approach the bridge from Delancey.”

In a previous effort, the NYPD targeted cyclists on the other side of the bridge with a similar crackdown.

We have reached out to the NYPD for comment, but have not heard from them.